Island Prison
by withoutapast
Summary: One-shot: Kate and Jack are held prisoners under mysterious circumstances, which gives them both a push to find what they need in each other. Mostly fluff. Rated for language and adult situations.


When she had first arrived, Kate felt as though the island was a karmic joke, one with minimal humor, she might add. Running away had become a sort of lifestyle for her. She had no pride in it, but the pattern that had emerged was undeniable. The island by its very nature had brought an abrupt change to this lifestyle. She could still run, but she would be running in circles, so she couldn't really run _away_.

Now though, sitting in a cell, Kate had newfound appreciation for the freedom, however minimal, the island had offered. By locking her up, the Others had cut off her ability to run even those purposeless circles. Kate tried to laugh at the irony; she was, after all, living in a prison on a prison.

Fortunately, she was saved from trying to enjoy the sardonic humor of her predicament by the sound of nearing footsteps. With the swinging of the door, any amusement she might have found was swept away. The Others had arrived.

Meanwhile, closer than either would have expected, Jack was pacing. Every painful emotion flitted across his features. The one image he could not shake from his head was her face as it disappeared from view. The last thing he saw was her beautiful face… her mouth had been gagged, her eyes had been pleading, questioning, and penetrating all at once. He'd wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and kiss away the tears that were threatening to fall, to tell her with confidence that things would be okay.

But they were not okay. He had no idea where she was. He had no idea where he was. And so he paced the length of his cell room, back and forth, back and forth. His body broke out into a heavy sweat and it wasn't long until he was drenched. His mind spiraled inward until his thoughts were unintelligible space, then it shut down altogether, but his body continued its frantic routine.

"What should we do?"

"Do?"

"Well we can't let him keep on like that."

"Do what you have to then."

The blond woman gave a curt nod before retreating from the room.

Jack felt like he was going out of his mind, so he appreciated the brief escape from his inward-oriented thoughts that the clicking of the lock to his cell brought. Four people filed in, closing the door securely behind them. Just as Jack was concluding that he could not make out their faces in the darkness of the room, the lights blinked brighter.

And he saw her—unconscious and carried by two guards. He immediately moved in her direction.

"Kate!"

But his first step was greeted with the sound of a shot and the pinch of prickled flesh.

In confusion his eyes flickered to the blond woman lowering a weapon; then a tingle brought his attention to his own shoulder where a dart protruded from his pierced skin.

He knew immediately that he would not reach her. Nevertheless, he willed his legs to continue until there was nothing supporting him and he collapsed, his mind slipping into slumber before his body crashed to the floor.

Jack awoke to an ache in his hip and a stiffness in his shoulder, which he attributed to the cement floor he found himself sprawled on. However, as he made a move to sit up the memory of what happened had the effect of an alarm clock on his body. He sprang onto his feet and surveyed his cell. Sure enough, there she was. In what he presumed to be an adjoining cell separated from his by a panel of glass, Kate lay unconscious.

He let out a breath he had been holding for what seemed like days. He knew this solved nothing. He was still a prisoner. And so was Kate. He was no closer to escaping and now had to figure out how to break her out too. But, at least he didn't have to find her first. Knowing where she was lifted the heaviest of the many weights from his shoulder.

Jack dragged his sore body to the glass and settled down right in front of it, leaning against it, waiting for her to wake up. Jack was unsure if the cell was buried underground or just buried deep in an inner chamber of a building, but either way it lacked windows, and thus Jack lacked a way to judge the passage of time. He guessed it was several hours before she stirred. When it appeared she was fully awake and had her bearings, he tapped on the glass to get her attention. Her eyes snapped up at once and a smile broke out on Jack's face as he waved. Her face reflected none of his joy. In fact, it radiated confusion and worry. He waved again and this time added her name, calling "Kate!" There was no recognition. A rock began to form in the pit of his stomach. With equal parts suspicion and dread, he tapped once more. Kate's jumped to the glass and put her ear up against it, seeming to confirm Jack's deduction. What had at first appeared to him as a glass panel was in fact a two-way mirror. While Jack could see her, she could see nothing but her own reflection.

"Damn it!" he shouted, slamming his hands against the glass.

Kate pressed her palms against the mirror, resting her forehead between them. Jack fought against the tears that were ready to spill from his eyes as he mirrored her stance. She was so close, but still just beyond his reach, as always. He forced himself to swallow his tears, choking on air, sputtering until he finally gained control of his breathing. In through the nose, out through the mouth, over and over until he was calm enough to think. At least he knew where she was and knew that, for the time being, she was safe. He could watch over her, but that was all. He shuddered at how wrong it felt to watch her when she had no idea she was being watched. Worse, he wouldn't be able to protect her from anything he saw happening to her. The thought wrenched his gut. It would kill him to watch someone hurt her and be powerless to stop it. He shuddered again at the psychological nightmare at hand.

The sound through the mirror was no accident, she was sure. It had been repeated. Someone was trying to communicate with her, but what message? She closed her eyes, steeling herself for what was to come. The uncertainty was unsettling. She hated not knowing. She hoped they weren't going to kill her, but if they were, she'd rather know now than live in perpetual fear.

Kate decided to tabulate what she knew. She knew she was in a cell. She knew it was a different cell than she had been in before. She knew she was being watched, that was obvious. The other cell hadn't had a mirror. She knew there was someone on the other side of it. She didn't know who, but she found the circumstance curious. The cell had a surveillance camera mounted in the corner, so it was interesting that she was being watched from two vantage points. It seemed excessive, even if she were a notorious flight risk. The other thing that didn't make sense to her was that the Others weren't trying to hide the fact that they were watching. The camera wasn't hidden and the mirror wasn't subtle. Either they were incompetent, which would make escape easier, or they had another reason, which could make escape harder. Kate shook her head. The mind games were to be avoided at all cost.

She walked the length of the cell, running her fingers over the walls, getting a feel for the space and its size. She checked her door. It was handle-less and heavy. After a thorough search turned up nothing of use, she plopped down by the door to wait.

Jack had never been good at reading girls. As a teenager it had taken a handful of breakups before he learned it was better to ask than to guess. Still, he tried anyway to figure out what Kate was thinking. She didn't seem overly anxious, which calmed him down. As long as she was okay, so was he.

"The move was effective. The doctor is observably calmer."

"Good. Send the team in."

"Now?"

The flicker of affront in the blue eyes was answer enough.

Just as Jack had concluded his wellbeing was inseparable from and solely dependent on Kate's, the door to his cell opened ominously. The people who emerged were clinical in appearance, from their lab coats to their clipboards; though impersonal, they did not feel threatening. Still, Jack kept his distance, which he had to admit was not much of a defense in an enclosed space like his cell.

"We aren't here to hurt you," the oldest among the trio spoke.

"Why are you here? No, why am I here?"

"That's exactly the question we need you to answer for us."

"What?"

"We need to know why you are here."

"Look, I don't know what you're playing at, but I didn't lock myself in this cell."

"I'm sorry, I was unclear. We need to know why you are here on this island. That's why we brought you here to this facility."

"Why did you have to take me prisoner? Why not just ask?"

"Jack, this may be hard for you to believe right now, but it was for our safety and yours. This island is full of mysteries, which I'm sure you've realized by now, and we had no way to know that you weren't one of them."

"Mysteries?"

"This island doesn't seem mysterious to you?" The leader's voice conveyed honest surprise.

"Learning to survive on an island after a plane wreck has been a challenge. This island, like any other we may have crash-landed on, is full of surprises," Jack explained.

"He's a doctor," a young woman reminded the leader.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack asked more aggressively than he'd meant.

"She is just trying to explain you're skeptical nature. You are a man of science. Reason, logic, rationality, these are the spheres you understand and operate in. Which is why you are so slow to recognize and accept the supernatural."

"Supernatural," Jack spit the word out like a piece of burnt toast.

The leader raised his eyebrows. "See, even the word itself is distasteful to you. You reject the idea, so how can you handle it when it invades your reality."

Jack threw up his hands. If these were his captors, he had little hope for himself. These men were lunatics, conspiracy theorists, believers in the paranormal. "God help me."

"God help us all. That may be the most promising and enlightened thing you've said thus far."

"I didn't mean it literally."

"Maybe you should."

"It's just an expression."

"Alright, Jack. I'd like to ask you a few questions. Can I invite you to a conference room down the hall?"

"If I say no?" The leader nodded to the other two, who disappeared and reappeared moments later with folding chairs and a table.

"The conference room was an option, but honestly I didn't think you'd want to leave," he nodded toward Kate. "Anyway, like I was saying the conference room was an option. The conference is not."

Jack sighed. "I haven't eaten." Again, the leader turned to his assistants, who produced a tray of real, warm food. Jack's stomach growled embarrassingly at the sight. "What about Kate?" Just as he turned to look over his shoulder, he caught sight of a similar tray slid through a sort of doggie door into her cell. "You know me well."

"Yes, and no. It has been my job to learn about you. Your character study told me Kate is important to you, which is why you now have sight of her. As for lunch, you've been imprisoned for nearly 48 hours; it was not hard to guess that you'd be hungry."

As uneasy as this manipulation made him, he was too hungry to protest. While Jack ate, the leader questioned him about how he and the others had arrived on the island. In between bites, Jack regaled him with the tale of the crash and events shortly thereafter.

"So you see, there wasn't anything supernatural about it. Our plane crashed. We survived. Done."

"I see. I accept that you are not some monster of the island. However, I disagree with your analysis that there was nothing supernatural about your story. I think your arrival was supernatural. Why, of all the possible places to crash, did you land here? That is no accident. The island brought you here."

"You talk about the island like it's alive," Jack observed, as he put down his silverware. He had no patience for pseudoscience, but the sliver of fear that sparked momentarily in the leader's widened eyes set him on edge.

The leader rose to leave, "That'll be all for now."

"Wait. You said I was here for my safety, too. Am I in danger?"

"Not from us," he indicated himself and his team.

"Who then?"

The leader looked conflicted, "I can't say."

"Wait! How much longer do I have to be locked in here? What else do you need from me? What about Kate? If you just need me, let her go."

"Easy now, don't get worked up. There a few tests we need to do. Those will happen tomorrow. Your meals will be brought to you. You will be allowed to use the restroom and shower, just knock on the door to ask. As for Kate, I'm sorry, Jack, we can't let her go. She's our collateral."

With that he and his team departed, leaving Jack to stew in self-loathing. If he didn't care so much about Kate and if he hadn't been so obvious in his attentions, she wouldn't be locked up next door.

The meal was delicious. She wasn't sure if it was because of the quality of the food or because she was ravenous. It felt so good not to have that ache of emptiness in her stomach, but she also needed to pee. She had guzzled most of the 2-liter bottle of water they had given her and now she was regretting it.

She banged on the door, "Hey! I need to go to the bathroom. Is anyone there? Can anyone hear me? Hey!"

When she'd given up on anyone answering and stopped knocking, turned her back on the door and begun to walk away, trying to decide if she should just use a corner, the door opened and two men rushed her and handcuffed her.

"What the hell?" She struggled, kicking out as they lifted her by the arms.

"We're taking you to the bathroom, as you requested." The smaller of the two explained.

"In handcuffs?" She questioned with incredulity, though she did relent and stop fighting.

"Your file says dangerous. You are to be restrained at all times when out of your cell."

"My file?" The larger guard shot a pointed, shut-your-mouth look to the other. "Fine. Nevermind. Take me to the bathroom."

As he watched Kate bang on the door, Jack developed an idea. He knocked on his own door, asking to use the restroom. As promised, his knock was answered and he was escorted by a pair of burly guards down the hall. "No handcuffs?"

"You have been deemed cooperative."

"And as long as we have your girlfriend, no one thinks you'll risk her life by trying to escape and save yourself."

Jack flinched at the brutality and truth. "She's not my…"

"Don't care," the guard snapped.

As he had hoped, when they arrived at the bathroom, two other guards were already there. Jack had counted on them utilizing a single restroom for both prisoners and had also counted on the fact that their separate guards were not in direct communication with each other. He doubted they would be allowed a bathroom break at the same time otherwise. Indeed, the looks on the guards' faces said it all. They weren't sure how to handle this unexpected situation. In the split second before they could change their mind and take him back to his cell he pushed through the door.

"Kate!"

"Jack?"

Before she knew what was happening, she was enveloped in his arms. They felt so safe and familiar. She melted into his chest, breathing in the scent of him while he buried his nose in her hair.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Are you?"

"Yes."

"Do you know what's going on?"

"I have an idea. It's all very vague though."

"Well, a vague idea is better than no idea, which is where I'm at, so explain."

"The others are suspicious about us. They want to know why we're here and how we got here. They think it has something to do with the island itself, like it's some supernatural power that brought us here on purpose. They're investigating. So far they've interviewed me. They said they had tests for me tomorrow."

"Then what?"

"I don't know." 

"Do you think they'll just let you go after?"

Jack didn't answer. He'd asked himself the same question at the end of his interview and he didn't like the answer his gut gave him.

"And what do they want with me then? They haven't interviewed me or anything."

"You're here because of me."

"What?"

"They needed insurance, a way to make sure I cooperated." Jack ran his hand through his hair in embarrassment.

"Me."

Jack nodded.

"Hurry up in there."

"Be patient! I still have my pants on!" Kate shouted back in anger. Jack gave her a puzzled look. "They wouldn't take off the handcuffs. I haven't been able to figure out how to get my pants down. Color slowly started to fill her cheeks.

Wordlessly, Jack sank to his knees. He unbuttoned and unzipped her pants and then carefully slid them down over her hips. It only took him a few seconds, but by the time he was finished, Kate was blazing red. She shuffled into a stall to pee, while Jack did the same.

When she had managed in fits and starts to pull her underwear back up, she called out to Jack to get her back into her pants, which he did with the grin of a little boy.

"Shut up."

"I didn't say anything." He chuckled.

"Stop laughing."

"I'm not laughing at you."

"Yes, you are!"

"Okay, but not for the reason you think."

"If you don't come out in the next thirty seconds, we're coming in," one of the guards called.

"Okay, we're coming out!" Jack responded, then he turned to Kate. "I'm on the other side of the mirror in your cell, by the way."

"That was you banging earlier." Jack nodded. "Can we do this again?"

"I doubt it, but I'll figure out a way to see you."

"You already can see me," she quipped.

"I'll figure out a way for us to see each other," he amended.

"Just don't leave without me." All traces of humor were gone. For the first time since he'd met her, she sounded vulnerable and that made him uneasy.

"That can't happen again." There was barely concealed fury roiling in her blue eyes.

"No shit."

"I'm not even clear how it happened."

"They both had to use the restroom at the same time." Her assistant shrugged it off, "It was coincidence."

Juliet looked up, realization had dawned on her. "No, it wasn't. The doctor was watching her. He knew. He orchestrated it."

"Oh."

Kate had faith in Jack, but that didn't mean she was going to sit back and do nothing. While in the restroom she had searched for anything she thought might be useful for breaking out, but found nothing. While the bathroom turned up nothing useful, her mind had churned out an idea. She managed to convince Jack to remove his belt and wrap it around her. He silently complied and then wrapped and tucked it since it was too large to be buckled traditionally.

After dinner, she requested to go to the bathroom. Once again, as she'd anticipated, she was cuffed and escorted to the facilities.

"I can't go to the bathroom in cuffs." Her statement was met with silence. "I can't get my pants off with my hands behind my back," she explained.

"You did last time."

"No, Jack helped me."

The guard raised his eyebrow and smirked. "Did he, now? How about I help you this time." Kate looked helplessly at the other guard, who remained impassive. This was not part of the plan, but it occurred to her that it might actually be easier this way.

"Please." She allowed her plea to shift to flirtation.

The guard took her by the upper arm and led her into the restroom, where he none too ceremoniously shoved her against the wall and ripped off her pants. As humiliating as her position was, it was not nearly as vulnerable as his. She kneed him in the nose sending him backward then kicked him between the legs. As he attempted to get to his feet, she shoved him face-first into the sink. He was out.

She grabbed his keys and set her wrists free, handcuffing the guard to the sink pipe. A quick search gave her a tranq gun and a ring of keys. After retrieving her pants, she cracked open the bathroom door and shot a tranquilizer into the other guard's shoulder, who slumped to the ground. Kate used the belt to restrain him then took his walkie-talkie to dispose of.

That was the easy part. Now she had to find Jack. She had no map, but she knew Jack's cell was opposite hers. With caution she jogged back to her cell, taking the first corner and then peaking around the second. Two guards. She had one chance to do this right. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she blocked out her nerves and focused. She drew her gun and leaned just enough. Two successive shots later, the two guards collapsed onto the floor.

She crept up to their bodies and again stole the walkie-talkie she found. The longer she could keep word of her escape quiet, the better chance she had of actually making it out. She stole the jacket top and hat off the guard, hoping that would be enough to fool whoever was monitoring the security camera footage. It took several tries with different keys before she was able to throw the door to Jack's cell open, step in and whisper, "Jack, let's go." She silently thanked God that he moved to the door without protest. Once out, she removed the cap.

"Kate?" Disbelief and gratitude colored his voice.

"What's up, soldier?" Kate smiled.

"Kate." Jack relished opportunities for casual flirtation, but now was not the time.

"Jack." Kate teased.

"What are you doing?"

She rolled her eyes. "Isn't it obvious? I'm busting us out."

"But after tomorrow's tests..."

"What? They'd just let you go?" Kate couldn't help the sneer from marring her face. "Do you really believe that?"

Jack swallowed. Did he? No. But he'd pretended to because it was the only hope he had. He shook his head.

"Good," she bit her lip. "We've gotta move. I'm not sure how much time we have, but I am sure it's not much." Jack took off down the hall with Kate in tow. "Do you know how to get out of here?" Kate was running blind now. This was as far as her plan went.

"Not a clue. We're either underground or in some inner chamber, so if we see stairs we'll go up otherwise we'll just keep moving outward."

"Okay, I'm right behind you."

Jack picked up the pace and Kate stuck with him. They wound through the maze of corridors reaching what both knew right away had to be an exit. "Ready?" Jack hesitated.

"Slowly," Kate cautioned.

He inched the door forward and peaked outside just as an alarm sounded.

"Shit. Run!" He urged, grabbing her hand and pulling her out into the yard. They took off sprinting toward the tree line, but didn't make it very far. Shots rang out in warning. Then Kate screamed and stumbled. "Kate?!"

"I've been hit!"

Jack reversed course and caught her in his arms as she wilted forward. "Where?"

"Naa-ehh-ck," she slurred, reaching up to find the dart. Jack located it before her clumsy fingers could and removed it. He looked back in horror. There was no way he could carry her and get away. There was no way he could leave her and live with himself. He pulled her behind some trees and tried to hide in the leaves and bushes.

Jack knew it was a long shot, so when they were surrounded a few minutes later, he wasn't surprised, just nauseous. He rose with his hands up in surrender. One of the guards came forward and punched him in the gut, bringing him to his knees, gasping. Then the guard knocked him upside the head with the butt of his gun, sending him sideways to the ground. "Please," Jack pleaded.

"Had enough, doctor?"

"Enough of this," the blonde woman called. She didn't have to shout. The air of authority was enough to command respect. "Take him back to his cell. He'll go willingly. Take her first."

"No! Wait!" Jack attempted to shout, but it came out a garbled, weak protest. "Wait!" he tried again, sitting up and pressing his hand to the bump forming on his temple. "I'll take her."

"With all due respect, doctor, you can barely stand." Jack had just fallen to one knee in his attempt to walk to Kate's unconscious body.

"I'm fine. I'm taking her."

He had to move slowly, but he was able to carry her. He carried her into his own cell and refused to let anyone near her.

"Jack, we could just shoot you, too," the blonde pointed out.

"That's the only way you'll get to her."

The blonde sighed. "You're going to have to trust me."

"Why should I?"

"Have we hurt you?"

"No, but you've had me locked in this cell." He raised his hands gesturing to the small enclosure.

"Pick her up."

"What?" 

"Pick Kate back up. And follow me."

Jack hesitated, but when the guard pulled out his gun, he realized that they could make him do anything. He carefully gathered Kate into his arms again and followed the blonde leader. Their walk lead them to what appeared to be an apartment. Unlike the cell, it was carpeted, furnished, had windows and even its own bathroom.

"This is where you'll stay now."

"Why?" He asked as he set Kate down on the couch.

"You gave being locked in a cell as a reason you couldn't trust me."

Jack shook his head. "This is great, really. But being locked up as a prisoner, not the cell was my complaint."

"You won't be locked in."

Jack's jaw dropped. "So I can just leave."

The blonde shook her head. "You are free to move about the complex, but you can't leave it. You will still be monitored."

"What's to stop me from walking off."

"You know the answer to that." Her blue eyes flickered to Kate's sleeping form.

"How long do I have to stay here?"

"I don't have an answer for you."

"I need at least a general idea. I'm not staying here indefinitely."

"We won't keep you forever." Jack scrutinized her for signs of deception. "I'm serious. Give me a few days, then we'll reevaluate." She paused for a beat. "You may actually decide you don't want to leave. I'm Juliet, by the way. I'll see you tomorrow morning for the tests." With that she let herself out.

Jack took a seat in the chair by the door. This situation was so fucked up. As he was trying to think his way out of it, Kate began to stir. He rushed to the kitchenette for a glass of water then rushed back to her side, helping her sit up and holding the glass to her lips. After a long drink, she took the glass from him. "Where are we?" Her voice came out as a croak.

"You got shot while we were running."

"I remember." She laughed mirthfully. "I've spent the majority of the last 48 hours unconscious thanks to those damn darts. But that still doesn't explain where we are." Jack caught her up to speed and found her confusion validated his own.

"Okay, that's a lot to process. I'm going to take a shower."

Jack nodded and then proceeded to explore the space. He found clothes for both of them in the dresser and closet. He found food in the refrigerator. He found everything ready as though it had been prepared specifically for them. It made his head hurt.

Kate emerged from the bathroom dripping in a towel. Jack couldn't stop his eyes from traveling down her body and then back up to her eyes, she blushed under his gaze. "Clothes are in the bedroom."

"Seriously?"

"Weird, right?"

Jack rinsed off as well, then threw on a pair of boxers for bed. He found Kate, clad in a long t-shirt, standing at the foot of the bed, staring at it.

"Something not to your liking? Miss the cement floor?" He kidded.

"There's only the one."

"Huh?"

"One bed. Two of us."

"Does it bother you? I can sleep on the couch."

"No, it's fine, really. As long as you don't mind, I don't mind."

"I don't."

"Ok then, neither do I."

"Good," Jack smiled, turning down one side and sliding in between the sheets. Kate turned off the light and climbed into bed beside him. "So how'd you get out of your cell?"

Kate explained her escapade from asking to use the bathroom to stealing the security guard's uniform.

"So that's where my belt went."

"Sorry, I lost it."

Jack laughed, "No worries. I didn't expect to see it again. I figured when you asked for it you intended to use it for some nefarious purpose like escaping."

Kate joined in with his laughter. "We were so close, too," she sighed.

"Mmmhmm."

After a few minutes of silence, Kate whispered. "You still awake."

"Even though this is by far the most superior sleeping arrangement I've had since we crash landed, I don't expect I'll get much sleep tonight."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Honestly?"

"I don't like the picture in my mind of that guard leering at you in your underwear."

Kate rolled over onto her side to face him. "Really? Out of the things you have to worry about, that's what's got you so tense."

Jack sighed. "Yes."

"You know, you don't have to worry about me."

"But I do."

"I know. I like it that you do," she admitted. "But I should be the least of your worries. I can take care of myself."

"I'm well aware. But what else should I worry about? Escaping this prison? Even if we do that, then what? We're still trapped on this God-forsaken island. It's like nothing matters anymore. The only thing that matters is survival. But even then, I don't know what for. I don't think I really believe we'll ever get off this island. So does it really matter if we get out of here? And, what's more, if that's the case that means all that matters in our lives is what we do while we're here. So I come full circle. At the end of the day, I worry about you. You're what matters to me on this island."

Jack didn't expect her to say anything, nor did he need her to. He knew that she knew how he felt about her and he wasn't going to pressure her into anything. But suddenly he felt her pressed up against him. "I worry about you, too," she whispered.

Kate awoke the next morning to Jack's arm draped over her hip. She smiled to herself and cuddled back into his embrace. Suddenly his breath was tickling her ear, his nose nuzzling her hair.

"You up?" He whispered groggily.

"Mmmm no," she sighed.

"Good." His arm tightened around her. Whether it was the influence of a surreal night spent in bed with the woman he loved or the early morning hour before the real day began or the threat of the unknown tests looming before him, he was not sure. But something in the air made him take a risk. He pressed a feather-light kiss into her hair. When she made no sound of protest, he repeated the action. Again and again, moving his mouth diagonally downward, nearing her neck and ear. Meanwhile, his fingers, which had developed a firm grip on her hip, began to move down her thigh, playing with the end of her shirt.

Kate purred under his ministrations, her body liquefying into putty.

In a move perhaps bolder than his first he slid his hand underneath her shirt, tracing constellations up her leg, across her abdomen, the side of her breast.

A shiver ran up her spine. She could feel Jack's smile against her ear. "Please," she breathed. She turned to face him and repeated, "Please."

Jack lowered his hand and grabbed the end of her shirt and pulled it up over her head, leaving her in just a pair of white cotton panties. He grinned, "You're beautiful. You know that, right? You are so fucking gorgeous."

He leaned forward and captured her lips in a gentle, exploratory kiss, pushing her onto her back and climbing on top of her in the process. She responded with hunger, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing herself into him. He eventually pulled away from her lips and continued his trajectory downward, licking and nipping with abandon. Jack knew he was going to leave a mark or two on her neck, but he wanted it that way. He wanted no doubt that she was his. He wanted to see it even after they'd left the bed.

His lips traced her collarbone and then moved to her breasts. He licked a circle around her nipple before sucking it into his mouth and teasing it with his tongue. Kate arched her back in pleasure, a soft moan escaping her lips. Jack kissed his way to the other and gave it the same attention, leaving her nipples, pink and wet. She writhed beneath him. He liked seeing her this way, completely open and unguarded.

He continued to plant sloppy kisses down the centerline of her stomach until he reached the hem of her underwear. His index finger traced the waistband, then traced her slit over top. Her hips bucked to meet the contact. Jack smiled at the effect he was having on her. He gently pushed her legs further apart and pressed a light kiss on her mound.

"Jack, please."

At her urging, he divested her of her panties, drawing them down her legs. "God, you're so wet." He ran his index finger down her slit, before sliding it in. "And tight." He slid his finger back out and replaced it with his tongue.

Kate buried her fingers in his hair, taking hold of his head as he pleasured her. She tried to buck into his mouth, but his hands pressed her hips back into the bed.

Jack pulled away, planting wet kisses on her inner thighs. "Don't stop," Kate protested. He dragged himself up her body and kissed her full on the mouth. She could taste herself on his tongue. "Jack," she whimpered, rubbing herself against him.

"Mmmm?" He asked into her mouth.

"I need you."

"Whatever you want, babe, it's yours." He threw off his boxers and positioned himself at her entrance. He placed his head at the opening, drawing a groan from her. With utmost self-control he slid just the head in.

"More," she growled, impatient with his teasing. He slid in excruciatingly slow, making her feel every inch of him filling her. "I want all of it." When he was all in, he pulled out just as slowly. "Jack," she whined. "I need you."

Without warning he slammed back into her. "Like that?"

"Fuck, yes! Harder." He continued to pound into her, increasing his pace at her demand. Meanwhile he moved one hand to the junction of their bodies and worried her clit with his thumb. "Oh my God. I'm so close." A few seconds Jack unleashed the well-wound coil within her, "I'm coming! Fuck, Jack!"

The rippling of her muscles as her orgasm hit sent Jack over the edge as well, "God, Kate!" His body collapsed onto her and he peppered kisses over her sweaty forehead. "Fuck, you're incredible."

Kate panted, "I had no idea you…I … you got me so high." Jack smiled triumphantly as he pulled out and rolled to the side. They lay together in silence for a few minutes, Jack on his back, Kate tucked in along his side, both coming down from their incredible high. Kate drew patterns on Jack's chest while he caught his breath.

"Why don't we get cleaned up?" Jack slid from the bed, pulling Kate along with him. He started the shower, checking the temperature until it was a comfortable warmth, then he took Kate's hands and stepped in.

The momentum of getting into the shower sent her forward into his chest. Jack responded by wrapping his arms around her and holding her against him as the water engulfed them both. Kate pressed her hands gently against his chest, pulling back slightly to afford herself access to his mouth, which she kissed deeply. Jack tangled his hands in her hair, enjoying the feel of her wet body slipping against his own.

"Can we just stay like this?" Kate whispered after pulling away for air. Jack turned her around so her back was against him.

"And forget the world? He whispered into her ear in response. He reached up and grabbed the shampoo bottle, squirting some into his palms before running them through her hair, massaging gently as he went. Kate leaned her head back into his touch. She couldn't stop the soft moan from escaping her lips and she didn't bother to try. Jack moved her hair off her should and kissed her behind the ear. "I'll do whatever you want. Go wherever you want."

"And what is it you want?" Kate asked breathily.

"I think you know what I want." He whispered huskily back, pressing himself into her behind.

"Then what are you waiting for? Take me." She looked over her shoulder at him, eyes glinting, lips twisted in a sexy smirk. Then she reached behind her with the opposite hand to cup his growing erection.

Jack squeezed a bit of shower gel into his hands, lathered them up and then ran his hands across her shoulders down her arms and back up again. He worked his way down her sides, up her abdomen, and to her breasts, taking his time to massage them until her head lolled back onto his shoulder. Then he rubbed her back down to her backside, which he kneaded while using his knee to spread her legs further apart. One hand abandoned her butt to grasp her hip as the other moved around to her front, his fingers teasing her opening while his lips bit down on her earlobe.

Jack leaned her against the shower wall, wrapping one arm around her waist to steady her, then placing the opposite hand against the wall to steady himself.

"You liked it rough this morning," he said with a slight challenge to his tone. Kate only ground her backside against his erection in response. So Jack guided himself to her opening and drove in hard. Kate let out a gasp in delighted surprise.

"I always like it rough," she announced as he continued to penetrate her from behind.

As water splashed over them, Jack took hold of the end of hair and pulled firmly, bringing her head back up. "Then I'll give it to you rough," he practically growled, his hips working at a frantic pace. He wasn't going to last long with a wet Kate beneath him talking of her sexual preferences. "You feel so good," he proclaimed. Luckily, she came the instant he sucked at her pulse point, falling limp against the arm around her waist. He emptied himself into her moments later and planted a succession of kisses across her back as he recovered.

Once they had their legs underneath them, they continued to wash each other. Jack followed her shampooing with conditioner, Kate did the same, enjoying running her hands through his hair almost as much he enjoyed her hands running through his hair. As she scrubbed his body with a loofah, she investigated his array of scars and tattoos, kissing them as she went and querying him about the story of each. Some had long explanations, some he didn't even remember acquiring. Finally, when the water started to run cold, they stepped out.

Jack wrapped Kate in a towel and used another to squeeze the excess water from her before tossing it aside. Kate grabbed a towel and used it to pat Jack dry, starting at his collar. As she worked her way downward, she sank onto her knees. Jack's eyes widened when she wrapped the towel around his penis and then replaced it with her hands.

She looked up from her lashes seductively. "You make me feel so good. I want to do the same for you."

"You already do," his breath caught in his throat when her tongue darted out, licking the tip. He became hard instantly, so his meek, half-hearted protest was easily ignored. Kate sucked the tip into her mouth, looping her tongue around it. "Fuck, you're going to be the death of me." He felt the vibrations of her laughter run up his penis, causing him to throw his head back against the wall. Kate released the head from her mouth with a pop and then lightly traced a finger up its length to the base where she cupped his balls.

Jack's eyes, already dark, had become disks of ebony. "Do you like the view?" Kate continued to play with his balls as Jack hissed out an affirmative response. "Have you fantasized about this?"

Jack locked eyes with Kate at his feet. "Yes."

"You have imagined me sucking your cock." Kate kissed up the length of his shaft.

"Yes."

"Did you touch yourself while you thought about me on my knees?" She switched to licking and nipping up a tortuous path to his balls.

"Fuck, Kate, yes."

Kate sat back. "Me, too." She admitted devilishly before leaning forward and taking his full length into her mouth and sucking, hallowing her cheeks and humming, bobbing up and down, driving Jack mad. In no time at all he was spilling his seed into her mouth and down her throat. When it became too much, Kate released him from her mouth, the rest of his semen dripping down her chin. Jack's shaky legs gave way and he slid down the wall to the tile floor. Kate proudly climbed into his lap, straddling him. "Was it as good as you imagined?"

"Fuck, it was a thousand times better," Jack answered, taking her face with both of his hands and kissing her. He grabbed the towel he'd thrown earlier and wiped the evidence of his pleasure from her face. "So much for getting clean," he chuckled.

Kate shrugged, stood, letting the towel around her fall away, and then took the towel from his hands to wipe herself off as he did the same.

"Breakfast?" he asked, following her to the bedroom to get dressed.

"I already ate," Kate teased, pulling on a pair of underwear and shorts.

"And that was filling, was it?" Jack retorted rhetorically, slipping into a pair of boxers and sliding a shirt over his head.

"Actually, it kinda was. There was a lot." She adjusted the straps of a bra and buttoned up a shirt over it. "You're big, you know." Kate cupped him through his boxers to emphasize her point.

Jack batted her hand away, "Keep your hands to yourself or those clothes you just put on will be coming right off of you."

"I wouldn't mind," she laughed, kissing the corner of his mouth.

"You're insatiable." He observed in awe.

"For you, apparently." She smiled knowingly.

After finding a pair of pants, he followed her into the kitchen where she was putting fruit into a blender. He scoured the pantry and retrieved a skillet, which he set on the stove to make omelets.

"You cook?" She asked.

"I do."

"Do you?"

"I can. Or I try, anyway."

After Kate had blended the fruit into smoothies and Jack had turned the eggs into omelets, they sat down to breakfast together. Kate's eyes darted to his as they ate.

"It's weird. That's what you're thinking, isn't it?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. It's all so…"

"Domestic?"

"Normal."

"Like this is what a couple in LA could be doing right now."

"And here we are, two prisoners on an island."

"It's surreal."

"It's not real."

"We can't stay here," Jack said. "Last night the woman said to give it a few days. That when they let me leave I might not want to."

"You want to leave this?"

"No," Jack admitted. "This is what I want more than anything. To share a normal life with you. To sleep in the same bed with you. To wake up and have breakfast with you. But I want those things for real, not in some fantasy version where I have to pretend we aren't on some damned island and our friends aren't miles down the beach in makeshift shelters."

Kate nodded. "I know. I hoped I could forget, but I can't. There are moments, like in the shower, when I can drive all the other thoughts from my brain. But when those moments end, it all comes back. So how should we do this? Do we wait like that woman asked? Do we trust that the Others will actually let us walk out of here?"

"Well, we're being watched."

It was only when Jack indicated with a tilt of his head the ceiling that Kate realized there were surveillance cameras in the apartment, too, just like the cell. "Are they in every room?" Kate asked, an edge of panic to her voice. Jack nodded.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know before we…"

"It's okay," she dismissed his apology. "It would have happened eventually anyway. I don't think either of us was going to resist much longer. It's the pervs on the other end of the camera cable that piss me off. Can we cover them?"

"I think that would invite a visit."

"Is there audio?"

"I don't know for sure, but my guess is yes."

"So no plotting an escape."

"No, not here." It was Jack's emphasis on the last two words that made Kate realize he was intent on planning some sort of escape, that he didn't take the Others at their word. Once they put their dishes away, Jack suggested a walk around the complex to which Kate eagerly agreed. As they strolled around, hand in hand, something felt off. "Where is everyone?"

"What do you mean?"

"Yesterday, this yard was full of activity. People were all about. Kids playing. Adults talking. Security guards patrolling. Why is no one here?"

Kate scanned the area. It had an unnatural silence. "Let's leave." The words had left her mouth before she'd realized she had a thought. "Let's go back to the apartment, pack some supplies, and go."

They hustled back to their apartment, found backpacks and stuffed them full with as much as they could reasonably take and then fled. They moved quickly and quietly and didn't stop to rest until they'd put a few hours between them and the complex.

"That was too easy," Jack said, the worry evident in his creased forehead.

"I was thinking the same thing." She shook her head. "But I don't think they're coming after us."

He looked around, "There is no sign that they're tracking us. We would have seen or heard something by now."

"You think they let us go?"

"I was wondering it."

"Why?"

"All of my energy is going into not asking that question."

"I guess it doesn't matter. Maybe it will when we know the answer, but for now all that matters is that we're free."

"Free from them. Still trapped on this island."

"For now," Kate interjected.

"For now," Jack repeated, smiling at her optimism. "Shall we keep moving?"

"Sounds good," Kate rose to join him. Before he could start walking, she grabbed the straps of his pack and pulled him to her, crushing his lips to hers. Jack responded in kind, cradling her head, then dropping his hands to her sides to pull her ever closer.

"What was that for?" He asked after she broke away, smiling.

"Do I have to have a reason? Can't I just kiss you anytime I want now?"

"If I can do the same."

Kate laughed, "We… us… this… will it change when we get back to camp?"

It was Jack's turn to laugh. "Kate, you know I've wanted you since like day 1. If you're thinking it was the fear of running out of time because we were prisoners or the allure of normalcy, it wasn't. I've wanted you since I met you. I want you now. I don't care where we are or what circumstances we're in, I just want you."

Kate nodded, satisfied with his answer.

"Really, it's me who should be asking that of you. You are by far the harder to read. Sometimes I even wondered if you liked… somebody else."

Kate shook her head. "No, I'm not any harder to read than you are. You knew what you felt and wore it on your sleeve. I wear my feelings on my sleeve, too. I just didn't know as soon as you did what my feelings were. If I was hard to read, it was because you were reading uncertainty and confusion and confusing that with your own uncertainty and confusion." Kate paused. "I wondered for a while, too, by the way, about him, but no. He isn't want I want or need. I want you. I need you like fire needs air."

Jack took her hand as they began their journey back to their temporary home.

"It was fun, though, seeing you jealous."

"It wasn't fun feeling that way," Jack snorted.

"I promise to be more considerate of your feelings."

"And I promise not to punch him for talking to you. Now I make no promise not to punch him for being an idiot or an asshole."

"Jackkk," Kate laughed.

"I'm kidding," Jack said. "For the most part."

"So we're just letting them go?"

"We have our answer to the first test."

"You thought it would take longer?"

"I'm not surprised by the result if that's what you're asking."

"Now what?"

"We wait. We will have our answer to the second test in a few months."

"And if it's negative?"

"I don't believe it will be. You have a front row seat to destiny here."


End file.
